


Flower of Fire

by seasaltmemories



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Battle Couple, Coming of Age, Demon AU, Enemies to Partners, F/M, Gen, Nonbinary Hange Zoë, Partners to Lovers, Self-Acceptance, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-04-29 06:09:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5118179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seasaltmemories/pseuds/seasaltmemories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Plant a demon seed and you'll grow a flower of fire," Petra's seen demons her entire life, but her life turns upside down when she meets one with white fangs and black hair</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Petra didn't know how long she's seen them. Ever since she was a baby, demons had haunted her. Big ones, little ones, cute ones, scary ones, didn't matter, they seem to flock to her.

Her parents didn't believe her, kids called her crazy, and doctors whispered of mental disorders. After a while she learned to keep her mouth shut and pretend to be normal. Even if one was hanging off her neck, she learned to act like it just wasn't there.

She got so good at it, soon she couldn't tell what was demonic or not.

"What's a pretty, young thing like you hanging around with that?" A deep voice brought her out of her book. It's only then she noticed the hellhound she had been mindlessly petting and the man standing before her.

"You can see them too!" Petra gestured to the various flower sprites floating around the park, shocked to have someone else acknowledge their existence. The man just smirked, and once she sees his teeth she realized how wrong she was.

"Oh, that makes sense. But I've never seen one so human-like, as you." Except for the sharp fangs, he'd blend perfectly in a crowd, raven hair framing fierce silver eyes

"How could this tiny girl be the one I sensed?" The demon had ignored all Petra said and walked up to her, examining every inch of her. "There's no fucking way." He mutters to himself.

Now Petra was used to being ignored, but there was no way in hell she was gonna take this shit from this weird demon. In a fluid motion she shut her book and slammed it down on his head.

"The fuck!" He growled, eyes burning with fury. Petra just smiled and replied,

"It's not nice to ignore people, if you have any questions just direct them to me."

"You do know I could kill you before you even realized I had moved?"

"Yes, but I've dealt with much worse than you, so get off your high horse, Shorty." She laced her words in sickening sweetness. The demon grumbled something she couldn't hear, but Petra was sure it wasn't nice compliments about her.

"Don't call me Shorty-"

"-then you tell me your name and explain yourself."

The demon grumbled some more before he sighed, "Call me Captain." Petra beamed at him in pride.

"There we go! Now continue."

"Look Girly, I sensed a powerful demon tamer but all I found was your scrawny ass." The demon spat the words out in disdain.

Petra giggled. "My name is Petra, please use it. Now why did you need this demon tamer?" Captain rolled his eyes at her question and Petra couldn't help but laugh some more.

"I don't give a shit why, Girly. Commander told me to find one, so I looked for one. Obviously I screwed up." He tried to exit dramatically by teleporting away, but Petra grabbed his hand before he faded away. Soon, she found she wasn't in the park anymore.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" Captain roared at her. For a second, Petra was frightened, but she knew she had to mask any fear.

"What the fuck were you thinking?! I want answers and you're gonna give them to me!" Suddenly Petra heard a cry in the distance that sent shivers down her spine.

"Looks like you'll get them after we deal with this guy. Let's hope you really are a demon tamer, for your sake." Captain gave a wicked grin before pointing to something behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Petra had seen her fair share of demons in the past, but they were nothing compared to what she saw before her. 10 feet tall with hellish red eyes and three heads, this beast looked like something out of mythology.

"Ah a puppy!" Petra tried to seem fearless. One wrong move and she knew it wouldn't hesitate to kill her. Slowly the demon bent down, heads extremely close to her tiny body. It seemed to be assessing her worth.

"Captain," Petra hissed while simpering to the monster. "What the fuck happened to 'could kill you before you even realized I had moved'?"

However, the demon had escaped while she was busy dealing the demon dog. Petra saw out of the corner of her eye, he was on a nearby rooftop, laughing his ass off.

As the monster continued to sniff her, Petra made sure to shoot him a bird before returning to the situation.

This demon was obviously very powerful, but seemed to be waiting for something. The middle head was level with her face, staring at her with those haunting eyes. Tentatively she patted the head.

To her surprise, images filled her head. Pictures of a Dalmatian with a security guard flashed through her. In the span of a few seconds, she saw the duo work, play, and live a peaceful life. However the last image haunted her: both of them lying on the ground, blood everywhere.

"So you miss your master?" The dog growled in response. Petra hoped that was demon for yes.

Petra racked her brain. This demon looked like Cerberus, so that was probably significant. Cerberus was the guardian of the underworld which made sense, the dog in the images was with a security guard. Suddenly she remembered a phrase she had heard while witnessing those pictures. If she paired it up with Cerberus…

"The shift's over Spot!" The beast seemed to shatter at those words, in it's place was the Dalmatian from before. The dog ran over to jumping on her and licking her face.

"Easy there, boy." Petra laughed and moved to pet the dog. However when she looked up, it had vanished into thin air.

"Hmm, guess you are a demon tamer," Captain voiced as he drifted down to reunite with her.

"What the fuck were you doing? I was dealing with that monster while you were busy-" Petra was cut off however when he took her hand and again she was teleported away.

* * *

In a flash, Petra had moved from the alley to a beautiful mansion. Sitting at a nearby table were presumably two demons, one with neatly combed blond hair, another with brown, messy hair in a ponytail.

"Ah, there you are Captain." The first one regarded him.

"Found one." He replied before collapsing in a chair, like he had an exhausting day.

"Oh, they're so cute!" The second demon squealed.

"Will someone tell me what's going on!?" Petra yelled, patience long gone by now. Captain sighed, as if dealing with her was such a trial before introducing the others.

"He's Commander, they're Four-Eyes, she's Petra. I don't give a shit why they need you, Girly, they'll explain." And with that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Four-eyes cackled at the answer while Commander just sighed. "Today must have been traumatic for you Miss. My deepest apologies, but we needed a demon tamer."

"What even is a demon tamer?"

"Glad you asked!" Four-eyes interrupted. "I've been researching your kind for centuries, and know a lot. First what do you know about demons in general?"

Petra sighed. "Practically nothing."

"Who knew Captain would find one so innocent!" They cooed. "Anyway demons are born when a living thing dies experiencing deep emotions and/or a strong will to live. They cause some chaos til you guys come in, demon tamers, the only people who can save demons and help them transcend to whatever comes next."

"Is that what I did?" Petra looked at her hands with a shocked expression.

"Well what exactly did you do?" Commander studied her with cold, calculating blue eyes. Petra recounted her tale of watching the demon's memories and then coming to the revelation of what to say.

"I see, you can tap into a demon's memories." Four-Eyes stared at her with amazement as they adjusted their glasses.

"What that's not normal?"

"No, especially since demons can't remember their lives. There's a reason we go by these stupid code names. But tell me, how did you the dog's name was Spot?"

"Easy," Petra grinned. "I study Mythology at Sina U. Cerburus is based off the Greek word that means 'spotted.'"

"Remarkable for such a young lady." Commander said. "Now I bet you're wondering why we summoned you."

"Do you want to be saved?" Petra guessed.

"Hahaha, Honey I've been up to no good since before you were a glint in your father's eye. I don't care about being "saved." What we want to do is help Captain eliminate some enemies." Four-Eyes explained. "See over the years, we've made Sina our territory. Unfortunately we've been having a nasty pest problem, Petra baby. You can kill a demon, but they'll only regenerate. With you, though we can get rid of them permanently."

"But why do I have to team up with him? Can't I do it on my own?" Petra wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"I'll admit you're very strong, any demon can tell by your aura." Commander remarked. "That's probably why no demon has attacked you before. But trust me, your aura only scares off the small fry. If you want to tackle our targets, you'll need protection, and Captain is the strongest out of us."

"You know, most people wouldn't want to work for nothing."

"Oh don't worry, we'll pay you very well. Once your done, you'll never have to work a day in your life. Regardless," He looked her directly in the eye. "No one says no to a demon."  Petra wasn't threatened. All her life she had wanted an adventure and this was it. Not to mention, she wouldn't have to deal with debt now after school.

"As long as I have time to attend college, and I still can see my father, you guys have a deal!"

"Excellent! There's only one problem though…" Four-Eyes turned to where Captain had been sleeping the entire time. "-we just have to tell him the news."


	3. Chapter 3

It's about a week later when Petra saw Captain again. He didn't particularly blend in, with his height, piercing glare, and the fact no other demon approached him.

"What do you want?" Petra sighed as she approached him.

"Commander has a job for us. Come on, girly" He grabbed her arm and in an instant, they were teleported on a rooftop.

"How do you do that?" It always amazed her what demons could do.

"Shut up," Captain growled while keeping his eyes trained on the alleyway below.

What a conversationalist.He was such a pain in the ass. Even though they had spent little time together, he just radiated douchiness. It didn't help he treated her like a child. She didn't even know who their target wa-

A kick to face interrupted her thoughts. Petra went sliding across the rooftop, barely keeping balance.

"Ohh," She groaned as she tried to get back on her feet and examine her attacker. He was a tall man, with dark hair sticking up in a way that would make her laugh if he was not running towards her.

"What do we have here?" His words were laced in amusement. "A little demon tamer thinking she's some big-shot.

Petra raised her fists. She didn't know anything about fighting, but it didn't matter if he didn't know that.

"So your fighter?" He clicked his tongue. In one swift motion, he swept the kick, knocking Petra off her feet.

"Dumb bitch," He laughed before dropping a heel on her stomach. Pain shot throughout her body. Fuck, where was Captain? She didn't know how to deal with this demon. Spot had been obedient, didn't they want to be saved?

Another kick was dropped to her stomach and this time Petra couldn't help but scream in pain.

"Pfft, did they really expect, this girl to take me out?" He pulled her up by her copper hair. "What a joke," Desperation burned in Petra's eyes. She had to do something, anything. Frantically she tried reaching the demon's forehead, maybe she could read his memories or something. For a second she saw a young soldier in a trench, identical to the demon standing in front of her.

Unfortunately, that was all she got before her ripped her hand of his head.

"That hurt!" He roared before shaking her. "Time to dispose of this pest."

He held her over the edge of the roof. Tears threatened to spill. This was it, Petra was gonna die.

Suddenly, Captain came out of nowhere, knocking the other demon off his feet. That caused him to drop Petra, and she screamed. She clawed for something to hold onto, and thankfully grabbed a window ledge and slammed into the side of the wall. Sounds of fighting trickled down, but all Petra could concentrate on was her erratic breathing. This was bad, she couldn't climb up in this condition and like hell was she letting go.

It was only then she noticed things have quieted down. "Captain?" It was worth a shot.

A few seconds later, his head popped into view. "What?" He drawled out.

"A little help please!" Just like that, Captain disappeared from where he was. Next thing she knew, strong arms wrapped around her waist.

"Let go," He was so close, his breath tickled her ear. She complied and they fell together. However they hit the ground way faster and safer than what should have happened.

Petra stood up, dazed and confused. "What the fuck happened?"

Captain gave her a tired look. "Here's how it went," he sighed. "I teleported down to where you were, then teleported so we were only a few inches above the ground. Now-" He stretched as he got up. "Let's go take care of shit." For the second time today, he grabbed her hand and then they were on the roof.

The demon laid unconscious, face bloody and bruised. Hesitantly, Petra approached him. She was still a bit frightened from her encounter with him. Tentatively she pressed her palm against his forehead. But nothing happened, no images appeared.

"It's not working!" Petra panicked. "I can't get anything!" She tried calming down. She at least had one memory, hopefully she could work with that.

"Let's see," She tried recounting every detail she observed. "You were a soldier, I remember someone shouted Gunther, so let's hope that was you. Gunther's German, and the biggest war with trenches like that was World War I, so you were a German soldier in World War I, Gunther!"

Nothing happened. Damn it, did she need a phrase like before? Petra racked her brain for one she heard, but she came up with nothing. All she had heard was Gunther, and she wasn't sure if that was him.

"Did you fuck up?" Captain asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Just shut up I can do this!" She barked. Maybe all she needed was some comforting words. "Look Gunther," Petra wasn't sure what to exactly say. "WWI sucked and was pretty pointless. At the end of the day, you death didn't accomplish much, but you can stop fighting now. You can rest in peace, you don't have to suffer anymore!"

With that, the demon shattered, just as Spot had. However, nothing was left over. Instead she heard a faint whisper.

_"Thank you,"_   That was all that was left of him.

"I'll get Erwin to send you you're first payment. Let's go," This time Petra slapped Captain's hand away.

"What the hell was that?" Hazel eyes burned with anger. "Where were you when I was being attacked? I almost died, and I'm pretty sure I might have broken a rib or something. We're supposed to be a team!"

"We aren't." Gray eyes pierced through her rage. "I fight demons, you do whatever your freaky shit is, we don't work together."

"Regardless, Commander and Four-Eyes sent you to protect me, and you would have left me to die if I hadn't had said anything!"

"Look girly," His voice was deadly calm. "I didn't know this target's power. Since your talking tipped him off we were here, and I couldn't see that fucker, he probably had super hearing or something. So I hid and waited til I had the perfect opportunity to strike."

"How am I supposed to defend myself if your always hiding?!" Petra wanted to scream at just how infuriating he was. "I'm not going on anymore missions til you teach me how to fight!"

Captain muttered some things under his breath and ran a hand through his hair. And Petra didn't think it was pleasant words by the way he clenched his fists

"Fine," He groaned. "But first let's get you to Hanji. They'll patch you up."

This time, Captain just held out his hand towards her. Petra wasn't sure she wanted to go with him. In her mind she had imagined this job as a fun adventure dealing with quirky demons, not this.

Still a promise was a promise. For what was probably the first time of many to come, Petra willingly took Captain's hand.


	4. Chapter 4

While Four-Eyes tended to Petra's wounds from her fight with Gunther, they took the time to explain more about demons.

"You see Pet, we all have different abilities. Captain can teleport, and I can heal others."

"What about Commander?" Petra asked before letting out another curse from Four-Eyes' "healing,"

"Easy there, it has to get worse before it gets better." They cooed as another jolt of pain wreaked Petra's body. "Anyway most like to keep their powers a secret, cause once you know their strengths, you can figure out their weaknesses." They chanted some more words and slowly, Petra started to feel less like shit.

"Don't worry, if you survive long enough you'll see for yourself." Petra didn't know why but something about those words frightened her.

"Ah there you are Miss Petra," She turned to see Commander standing in the doorway. "I just wanted to inform you we've already wired your payment for the job." He smiled easily, too easily, it put her off for some reason. "Just continue to produce results, and we'll continue to pay you well."

"Thank you, Commander," Petra replied, trying to ignore the creeping feeling. "If that's it, then I'd like to get home."

"That reminds me, Captain wants to see you in the courtyard."

"Already?" She sighed. Well she did say she wanted to learn how to fight. "Hey Four-Eyes, get ready, cause I think I'll need your help again in a little while."

* * *

After following Commander's instructions, Petra came to a beautiful courtyard hid among the mansion. It just occurred to her, she had no idea where she was exactly. She had been in a few rooms, but from the looks of this, the building was much bigger than she had first thought.

"Hey girly!" Petra turned to see a very shirtless Captain approaching her. "I've been waiting forever,"

Petra rolled her eyes, partly out of annoyance, partly so she wouldn't stare at his perfect body. "Sorry, I was just being healed from those injuries from earlier. I wonder how that could have been avoided?"

Captain growled in response before running a hand through his hair. "Let's just leave that behind us for now, do you wanna learn to fight or not?"

Petra nodded, but held a finger up. "Just give me a second." She took off her shirt, thankful that today she had decided to wear a sports bra.

"In a fight you won't have time to strip."

"Well you won't have time to get naked either, so shut it." Petra heard some more muttering, again probably not good things about her.

"Ok, strike a fighting pose," Petra complied, feeling ridiculous.

"Horrible but expected," She frowned, as Captain examined her from every angle. "Stance is the key to fighting, so you should widen it here," His light touch almost made her stutter. "And bring up your arms a little here." He was so close to her, Petra could his breath caressing her cheek.

All this made concentrating a bit hard, which just pissed her off. She wasn't some hormonal school girl, she was a grown ass woman who could control herself. Plus why did she have to find him, of all things, attractive? Besides being a douche, sleeping with a demon probably resulted in you dropping down into the fiery pits.

"Girly, hey," Captain snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Pay attention."

"Sorry, you're not the best teacher." She snarled back.

"You're the one who wanted this lesson." True, but Petra didn't want to let him know that. She keep quiet for the rest of the lesson, and soon she realized Captain actually was a good teacher. He knew how to use their short stature to an advantage, and how to take down your enemies quickly. By the end of the lesson, Petra ached everywhere, but she was much wiser than before.

"So you ready to go home?" Captain was now dressed and held his hand out.

"Yeah, and about today…" She sighed, trying to swallow her pride. "I'm sorry for all the unnecessary backtalk. It was rude of me."

"Damn right it was," Ouch.

"Still, you weren't much better!" Petra shot back.

"Fair enough," Levi answered.

Maybe she was too exhausted, but for some reason, Petra found that hilarious. She burst into unabashed laughter, for much longer than the comment deserved.

"Are you high?" He seemed shocked by this strange side of her.

"No I'm fine," Petra wiped her eyes. "I'm ready, take me home."

* * *

For about a month, all her time was devoted to training. After classes, Captain would take her to the mansion, pushing her past her limits and painting her pale skin black and blue. Then Four-Eyes would fix her up, Commander would mention a new target, but Captain would insist it was too early for her to go back out into the field.

"She was almost killed by Target 1 of all demons, she needs to be able to protect herself, without me." It's strange, but it's almost as if he's concerned about her safety. Last mission he had been clear on their relationship.

But then she had despised him back then, and that's not the case now. Sure Petra hadn't forgiven him for the Spot mission, and he was still an ass, but she had grown to hold a certain respect for him. He was good at what he did, fighting and killing, and that's what he taught her. How to fight when your opponent is wielding a weapon, the spots the are nonfatal but hurt like hell. Petra couldn't bring herself to act like the sarcastic little shit she used to be towards him.

"So what do you think about going out in the field again tomorrow?" Captain gasped out those words as he dried the sweat off his brow.

"You think I'm ready to take on real opponents?" Petra's surprised for their lessons have been filled with harsh words and insults.

"No, but now you can at least hold your own," His words slightly stung, but she was grateful for the honesty.

"I think I'm much more prepared than last time, thank you." She politely smiled.

At this he turned away, from embarrassment or disdain she couldn't tell. "Good. We'll leave tomorrow."

* * *

That day after classes, Petra found Captain in the same place, scowling as usual to the bystanders that fail to notice him.

"You ready?" He asked her as she joins him.

"Yeah," Petra thought back to the pocket knife her mother gave her when she was thirteen resting in her pocket. "But do you know anything about our target?"

"Nothing you need to know." She held back a smart remark and instead decidesd to make a face. 'Patience, Petra' She repeats those words in her head.

With that, Captain took her hand, and again they're transported to a distant place. As Petra tried to adjust to her surroundings, she realized they're in the park where she first met Captain.

"So, who's our target?" She turned to speak to Captain, but he was long gone. "Perfect, just perfect," She groaned, but it was to be expected.

Carefully, she took out her knife, eyeing the shadows. She was naive last time, but there's no way in hell, she'll be compromised like that again. Petra struck a defensive pose, waiting for the target to appear. She saw nothing, but the feeling of being watched tickled the nape of her neck.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of gold, it was too late to counter though, so she raised her left arm to shield herself. Screaming pain surged through it as a man slashed it with a blade for an arm.

Petra gritted her teeth, but stayed standing. There's one good thing about Four-Eyes' torturous sessions, now it was much easier to work through the pain.

"Ah, the little demon tamer from before. I knew I should have disposed of you back them." The demon sneered in disgust, blond, long hair framing his snarl.

Petra longed to swap snarky comebacks, but time was of the essence. While she's right-handed, she did not know how powerful Four-Eyes' healing is. The demon towered over her, but that made it easier for her to reach down and stab his crotch. The demon roared in pain, bending down to cradle his package. But that gave Petra the opportunity to slice his face, drawing large amounts of blood.

However, her victory was temporarily. The demon lunged for her right leg, cutting deep into it.

"Fuck!" Petra cursed as she limped away, distancing herself, so she had room to think. With her leg like this, her speed was greatly reduced, lowering her chance of winning a lot. Still, she reminded herself, she didn't have to win, just survive.

Awkwardly she danced around him, feeling lightheaded already. Where the hell is Captain? This was the perfect chance to swoop in and save the day.

"I see you've grown some claws since the last time you trespassed my territory."

"Are you stalking me or something?" The words slipped out of her mouth before she had the chance to censor them.

"No, but there are always sneaky, slimy demon tamers lurking in the dark. Thinking they can just go and "save" whoever they want." He spat out the words in disgust. "But they'll never get me, never!" With that he charged towards her.

Petra knew she didn't have a lot of fight left, it was do or die. She crouched down as far as she can, only getting nicked in the cheek by his attack. Petra roared as she springs up, aiming for his shoulder. As she stabbed him, she heard the demon let out a scream of pain.

But it was not from her. At the same time, Captain came diving in, kicking the demon in the mouth. The demon came crashing down, conscious but barely.

"Where were you?" She growled at Captain, but he only frantically gestured at the demon. He was right, they only got a few seconds, before he passes out.

Quickly, Petra bended down and pressed her palm to his forehead. Memories flashed before her eyes, but less than she had experienced with Spot, almost like an abridged version of his life. A lady calls for an Erd, and the demon turns around with a teasing grin. Good we got a name. Next she sees Erd dancing with a brunette, and more images pass of them: they're laughing, passionately kissing, wearing a white dress and tux, Erd's waving goodbye to his pregnant lover, and last he's watching a dirty faced man stab a knife through his heart, staining his blue police uniform red.

But then there's a yelp of pain, and she saw no more.

"You get everything, girly?" Captain stood off to the side, examining the unconscious demon.

"I think," Petra took a deep breath. "Erd, first off, I give my condolences for your name. Bet you never found that on any Coke cans." She lets out a weak laugh, and she starts to feel dizzy. "Anyway, I saw you met a gal, a wonderful gal , carrying your child. And it sucks some creep killed you before you got to met them. Got to hold them, see who they resembled more, or watch their first step. But I bet your wife told them millions of stories about you. How you were a great policeman, how you laid down your life for them. And the only way you're gonna find out is if you move on! You didn't get to know your kid in this life, but judging from your memories, it's been a while, and you'll get to in the next!"

With that the demon crumbled like dust. However Petra didn't notice. The world was spinning, and her vision was dimming.

"Help," She croaked out. Petra stayed conscious long enough to watch Captain catch her, wearing look of horror, before blacking out.


	5. Chapter 5

Slowly, the world came into focus, a dull ringing shaking Petra's head as she groaned in pain. She heard voices of sorts but was too tired to open her eyes to see who they are.

Suddenly, rough hands grabbed the side of her face, and a warm relief flooded over her.

"Mom?" She croaked out, but when she finally got the strength to crack an eyelid open, she saw it was Four-Eyes.

"Oh thank god, you're still with us!" They sighed in relief. "You've been unconscious for days now!"

"What-" She started to ask, but it all comes back to her: Captain, the fight, and Erd.

"I got you here as fast as I could after you passed out, but Four-Eyes couldn't heal you completely with injuring themself." Out of her perpetual vision she saw Captain, standing awkwardly off to the side. "You were in bad shape, Petra, what the hell happened?"

Something about the way he said her name made her lip twitch. "Glad you know my name isn't actually girly." That caught him off guard, the tips of his ears changing color in the slightest bit. "But I dunno, I was hurt but ok after the fight, but then I watched his memories, and I felt like shit."

"Interesting," Four-Eyes scribbled some notes down on a clipboard. "Tell me Petra baby, was it a dull, throbbing pain, or a hot searing one?"

"Hey, my tamer is barely alive, let her rest." Captain moved to defensively separate them from her.

Four-Eyes eyed the two, a mad grin painting their face. "Looks like Captain's making friends. Very well, I'll give Commander the news, but remember she's also my patient." With that, they scurried away.

Captain sighed, before taking a seat where Four-Eyes had been. Now that they were alone, Petra felt more confused and lost than before.

"I thought you hated me." She strained herself to sit up.

"I don't-" He paused to gesture her to lay back down. "To be honest, I don't like you either, but despite being a little shit, you're a hard-worker." Captain ran a hand through his hair. "And you're actually not useless, so I just... I just don't want to lose my tamer." He fumbled out the last part.

"Well I don't like you either." That remark made him smirk. "Still for a giant asshole, you know your trade well and teach it even better," But then Petra replaced her smile with the deadliest glare she could muster.

"But if you don't want me dead, than treat me like a partner, not a child." She propped herself up with her elbow. "If you stopped with your little disappearing act every fucking time, I wouldn't need Four-Eyes to resurrect me from the dead. Please-" She looked him squarely in the eyes. "If I'm your tamer, treat me like it."

Captain clenched his jaw, deep in thought. He was clearly against her proposal.

"Fine." He answered after what felt like an eternity. "But once you're healed, we're going straight back to training."

"Thank you, Captain." Petra beamed.

"You're welcome." He gave a curt nod, before heading for the exit. But for some reason, he stopped halfway, turning back around. "Hey girly,"

Petra looked back up, and suddenly he was extremely close to her face. Almost gently, he trailed a finger across her cheek. "Erd nicked ya there, Four-Eyes said it'll leave a scar."

With that, Captain vanished, leaving Petra to curse every deity she could name.

* * *

"Petra, you're ok!" Those are the first words she heard when she returned to her dorm the next day.

"Easy there, Rico, I'm still healing." She laughed as the bespectacled woman quickly detached herself from her. "What did they tell you happened to me?"

"Nothing," Rico's eyes widen as she spoke. "I expected the worst, what exactly happen?"

"Got mugged." Petra focused her eyes on her forehead. "Fucker had a knife and messed me up bad, still not as bad as you've probably imagined."

"Have you told your dad yet? Did they take everything? Do you know the bastard's name? Do I need to lend you one of my cooking knives?"

"Yes, no, no, no!" She laughed at the way Rico shot out the questions.

"I'm just glad you're alive Pet," Rico replied as she took all of Petra's items out of her hands for her.

Petra sighed at Rico's protectiveness, but she decided to let it go and went to straighten her things. However she stopped dead in her tracks once she caught a glimpse of her reflection.

Carefully she examined herself, the scar was there as Captain said, long and thin on her right cheek. Still Four-Eyes had done a good job, it blended in with her complexion, and she could hide it if she combed her hair a certain way.

It didn't mar her appearance that much, but something about it frightened her.

"Hey you ok?" She heard Rico cry out.

"Yeah." Petra quickly distanced herself from the mirror. It seemed like there was no going back to her old life.

* * *

"Four-Eyes, are you sure, I'm the right one for the job?" She asked as they healed her broken bones back together.

"Petra, love, why are you worrying now?" They turned, concern painting their features.

"I'm just worried I've caused more harm than good." Slowly, she traced her scar for the billionth time. "I mean I got fucked up by apparently two no names, all I seem to do is hurt myself."

"Petra you wouldn't be sitting her if you weren't perfect for the job." They replied. "Over the century we've taken in many demon tamers, and they've all broken so easily. But you, you're a fighter, most would give up after Captain's hellish training, but you stuck with it."

"That's all I'm really good at, being stubborn." Petra smiled. "Mom had horror stories of me as a baby.

"And don't worry about that pissbaby, he likes acting tough and cold, but you've grown on him. And that my dear-" Four-Eyes playfully tapped her nose. "Is very hard to do."

"I don't even like him that much, though," She didn't like the way this conversation had veered off. "I'm more concerned over my powers. How can I work, if I don't know how to control them?"

"You know, that's the interesting thing about you?" They scratched their head. "Your talent greatly resembles a demon's. Both are very draining and manifest unknowingly. I wouldn't be surprised if you had a drop or two of demon blood in your veins."

"What the hell?" Petra made a face.

"Don't worry, Pet, I promise things will be a lot easier if you decide to take this one day at a time."

"You really think so?"

Four-Eyes had grown somber. "Petra Ral you're one of the few humans that can entertain me so much. I know you can do this."

"Thank you so much, I needed this." She wrapped her arms around them in a hug. Petra never thought a demon would comfort her so easily, but her she was, embracing one.

* * *

"Alright now!" Captain yelled and they struck the training dummy together. The dummy fell off the hook, and Petra couldn't help but let out a whoop of excitement.

"Finally, we're starting to make progress!"

"I don't see how this will help though," He sighed as he wiped his brow. "Dummies don't fight back."

"Still now we've broken you out of that nasty habit of running away." She teased. Captain growled at that remark but said nothing more.

Petra started humming a jaunty tune as she put away the equipment. After Four-Eyes' encouraging words, it felt like she was learning and growing more every week. Plus she kept on disliking Captain less and less. It really felt like one day they'd at least be able to have amicable relations.

"You know what?" She sang.

"Mind reading isn't one of my powers, girly."

"I'm too happy to even be bothered by your snark." Petra smirked. "Anyway, to celebrate a new partnership, we should go get drinks,"

"Drinks?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

" Yeah you know: beer, alcohol. Unless that'd be weird, a floating glass since you're invisible and-"

"Stop talking for one second." He pressed a finger to her lips. "I'm way older than you, for fuck's sakes, I'm not a nitwit. The reason is this is solely a business relationship. I'm not you're buddy or pal-"

"Jesus, you talk like a cursing grandma!" Petra giggled. "Come on, I'm in a good mood, I promise I won't be a little shit again. Besides you promised we were gonna try this partner's thing, right?"

"Oh, right-" He looked like he wanted to add on more, but Petra's stare was fatal. "Fine, but you're paying girly."

"Of course, you idiot." She smiled before running to change into some nicer clothes. As her father would say, by Jove she might be finally getting the hang of this.


	6. Chapter 6

"That wraps it up!" Petra grinned as the demon she learned was called Auruo faded before her. A few days after Petra had taken a reluctant Captain out for drinks (Which she should do more. He's pretty good at holding his drink, but he's much less uptight after a few shots.) they had to take on their third demon. And while the new fighting method had a few bugs, it was definitely a step in the right direction.

"You alright?" Captain raised an eyebrow, eyeing her over.

"Course I am." Petra waved off the question. He didn't need to know her head was spinning, what mattered was she was standing as opposed to last time with Erd. "Still lets head back to Four Eyes."

"Patience, Girly," He raised a hand up to gesture. "I need rest."

"What?!" Petra tried to stay calm, but a little panic bubbled up. "Since when?"

"Since we've started this new fighting style." Captain grumbled. "I fought that way to conserve energy, do you know how exhausting it is teleporting to and fro?"

"Great, great," Petra could hear her voice becoming shrill. "What are we gonna do? take a bus back to the mansion?" She couldn't believe herself for being so caustic after weeks and weeks of trying to bridge the gap between them, but she was growing weaker and weaker by the second, and she did not want a repeat of Erd.

"Easy, easy there short stuff." Gently he grasped her shoulders. "Don't work yourself up in a tizzy over nothing. We just need to wait ten minutes top, 'k?"

Petra took a deep breath. She knew she had this problem since she was young. She was quick on her feet, but she was easily upset when something blindsided her.

_Calm down Petra_ She told herself. Captain was right, panicking solved nothing. She'd do more damage to herself than a memory viewing by losing her head.

"Alright." Petra tilted her head up to look the demon in the eye. "I'm fine, thank you. Just needed to breathe."

"Good." Stiffly he let go, looking unsure what to do with his hands now.

"Why don't we sit down?" She gave a shaky smile. You had to take back control of the situation if you lost control. That's what her dad had said when she first learned to ride a bike, but it applied to more than that.

"Sure." This time, they had ended up at an empty community swimming pool, long deserted with the coming of winter, so they decided to rest on some empty beach chairs.

For a beat, they sat in silence, neither knowing what to say. It was positively deafening, Petra was desperate for conversation so she blurted out the first thing that popped in her head.

"Why did you choose a name like Captain?" At her words, silver eyes met her's, intensity great, but not necessary directed at her.

"Why do you care?" He spoke in a monotone manner, but there was a slight edge to the words.

"Honestly, all ya'll demons have weird code names. Why would they pick things like Commander and Four-Eyes?" Absentmindedly she traced her scar.

"We picked them out for each other." Captain answered. "We woke up together. All of us were confused with no memory and these strange abilities." He ran a hand through his hair. "Four-Eyes just popped in my head when I saw them in those ridiculous glasses. They gave us ranks because we woke up in uniforms corresponding to them."

_Oh._ "Sorry," She knew it must be painful remembering all that.

"Nah," Captain made a face at her apology. "If I wasn't comfortable talking about it, then I wouldn't have mentioned it." He grunted some before standing up, arms outstretched. "I think I got enough juice to make a jump to the mansion. You ready?"

Petra sighed. "Yeah." She took his hand, and they disappeared, without a trace.

* * *

"Commander!" Petra called out to the blond demon. It was really kinda rude, but she barely saw him and need to catch him before he disappeared as quickly as Levi could.

"Ms. Ral?" He tilted his head toward her in a motion to continue,

"I don't mean to waste your time," Her confidence was draining away as she started to grow insecure. "But I have a few questions."

"I don't have many things to do, fire away." He wore a polite smile, but it still unnerved her. It just seemed too calculated to be genuine.

"Well this might be too informal for me to ask as a… mercenary?" That was really the best word to fit her occupation. "But I was wondering why exactly would you need to get rid of demons in your territory?"

"I think you answered that question yourself, Ms Ral. They're in our territory, isn't that reason enough?" Commander looked ready to move on.

"Yeah but what's important about your territory?" It couldn't be just animistic desire. While she had seen shades of it in each of them, it didn't make sense to hire a demon tamer just for that.

"It means we can conduct our business without any other's interfering. How else do you think we get the money to pay for your services?"

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Petra wasn't slow, but she had to admit she hadn't thought about how they were able to send her checks with figures that made her eyes pop out in shock. Or how they were able to afford a mansion as their living quarters. She had just been swallowed up in everything, finally at peace she didn't imagine the demons she saw in class.

Just what had she gotten herself into?

"Before you ask how we get our money, I won't reveal much." Commander continued, unaffected by her surprise. "We prefer to keep most of it clean, but I can't say we haven't dipped into immoral matters. In the past we participated in the slave trade, but then it was outlawed and going underground would be too much work."

"You sold human beings like they were livestock!" Petra couldn't hide her disgust at such an act.

"Do you honestly expect demons to follow the same moral code as your kind?" His words grew sharp as he emphasized 'your kind'. "We aren't bent on destruction or saving people, we simply do what we please."

"And just what do you want to do?" Petra was suddenly aware of the size difference between them.

"We're not quite sure. We're like humans in the respect that we don't know our purpose. The only difference is we have much longer to figure it out." At that he turned away from Petra. "I'm sorry but I really can't say much more. Just remember," Blue eyes grew cold as ice. "No one backs out of a deal with a demon." With that, Commander left. Leaving Petra very alone and very scared.

* * *

Later that night, Petra was wide awake as she thought of everything.  _Demon Tamer, what does that mean?_ Again she traced the scar that stretched across her right cheek. She'd gotten a billion questions about it, and if Erd and Gunther and Auruo were all nobodys, then she'd probably get more.

What had she done with her life? Petra had to admit, she didn't have much of a plan before all this nonsense started. She enjoyed mythology yeah, that's how she had helped Spot back then, but there was no money in that. At this rate the demon tamer business would leave her set for life, but how would she explain that to everyone? People would think she was a drug lord or something.

Petra sighed as she rolled onto her other side. That reminded her of the demon trio. While Commander had always seen suspicious, she had enjoyed Four-Eye's company. Captain was a mixed bag (not just his attitude but the way he made her feel sometimes. In ways she definitely didn't need to feel about a demon) but in the end she had grown used to his sour presence

She had just figure out this demon tamer thing, had finally gotten Captain to treat her seriously, but what did that matter if she had accidentally sided with the bad guys?


	7. Chapter 7

A few weeks passed, but nothing changed. Petra couldn't voice her fears to anyone, so she locked them up as neatly as she could. Commander continued to give her that creeping feeling, Four-Eyes continued looking after her, though much less often now, and Captain continued to work with her on perfecting their technique.

They fought a few more demons: Nanaba, the "witch" killed for being born in the wrong body, Mina, the lucky girl who managed to win a ticket for the Titanic just in time, and Franz, a kid who lost his life in a roller coaster accident. Petra doubted the others cared about their lives outside the fact they were through, but she held onto their memories for some reason. Maybe it was a side effect of memory viewing, or maybe she was just sentimental. Petra didn't know. All she knew was that nobody remembered these sad lives lost in the ravages of time. She felt since she had ended their existence it was the least she could do.

"I think that's enough for today," Captain sighed as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "You've gotten a lot better at fighting. Probably could take me on."

"Really?" She cocked her head to the side.

"You wouldn't win, but I wouldn't kill you easily."

A chill went down her spine again, and Petra couldn't help but snap.

"Why do you talk like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're so apathetic to life and everything besides your own goals," She looked him square in the eye. "I know you guys aren't human but I am, and I can't not care like you do. There are so many things that make life precious, and you all just want to tear it down for everyone."

"We aren't asking you to do that," He crossed his arms. "All we want is you to get rid of invading demons in our territory."

"That's what you say, but there's so much more you ask," Petra could feel tears threatening to spill. "Every time I think I got everything figured out, another problem pops up. But you expect me to take it all in stride while attending college and having to lie to my family and friends."

"What do you want, more money?"

"I just want someone to understand, damn it!" She couldn't hold back the tears anymore. "I thought I could talk to Four-Eyes, but then you guys showed just how detached you are from from humanity, and I don't know what to do!"

She curled into a ball as she tried to calm down. Petra knew she had said to much but she couldn't bring herself to care. She just felt so alone.

Suddenly, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"We can't have you in this state," Captain clicked his tongue knowingly. "Why don't we get some drinks?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine,"

"Yeah you are with that outburst," He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "If you need help just tell us before dropping it like this."

"Why do you care about me?"

"Like I said, you're my demon tamer. And besides..." He seemed lost in a memory. "We were human once as well." Before she could reply, Captain spirited her away once more.

* * *

A few hours later and after losing count of how much they had drank, Petra was feeling better. It was probably due to being a little drunk, but she wasn't a happy drunk. It had to have been something else.

She supposed it must have been the demon across from her, fumbling over his words so awkwardly. Captain wasn't a happy drunk either, but he was much more relaxed. It was either his presence that made the words flow easily or her last shot.

"I just don't know what to do with my life, ya know? I thought this demon tamer thing would be good, but I don't want to indirectly hurt people in the process."

"I don't see the problem?" He stared at her as if she was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Commander said you guys do some shady shit. I decided to not become a lawyer because of stuff like this," Petra groaned. "I don't want to hurt people."

"Well that's bullshit. It's impossible to not hurt people," Captain drawled out. "Human interaction isn't able to end is sunshine and giggles."

Petra couldn't help but laugh a little at that.

"I wasn't trying to be funny."

"But you were," Petra grinned.

Captain looked down at the table at that. "Well don't believe all Commander says. He tries to make us out to be more intimidating than we really are."

"Ya'll don't seem to be the cuddly type."

"Naw, but we're more like your classmates than anything else. Just lost and stumbling around."

She laughed again, but it came as an obnoxious snort that made him laugh as well.

"Ya know that doesn't solve anything?"

"Well can it work for now?" Captain ran a hand through his hair. "You're looking like a mess. We need to get home."

"You're just a pot calling the kettle black."

"No, I always look like a mess. You always dress your best, in those cute skirts and stuff."

Petra's mind started to wander, but she shut down where that thought was heading before it got there.

"I am tired," She grabbed Captain's hand a little too quickly.

Afterwards she could have sworn if hadn't just been drinking, he might have been blushing.

* * *

"Commander," Petra stepped in front of the tall demon once more, this time her fear under control. "We need to talk."

"What is it this time," He sighed clearly annoyed.

"From now on pay me only with clean money," she forced herself to look him in the eye. "Please," She added on, her tone sharp and demanding.

"What has gotten into our lovely demon tamer today?" Commander smiled pleasantly.

"You don't know how much I hate being involved with something like that," Petra grew somber as she recited the words he had long practiced. "But my actions don't exist in a vacuum. I can't stop all negative consequences, but at least I can minimize them."

"Those are cynical words for a young lady like you," He examined her like a cell under a microscope, trying to pinpoint everything.

"I'm not cynical, I could never be... too many people just have given up on the world, but I just can't do that! Part of the reason I jumped onto this demon tamer thing so quickly is because I wanted to be able to change things for the better!" Her shoulders shook, but Petra stayed composed.

"How interesting," Commander clicked his tongue knowingly. "Your request is simple enough. It shall be carried out once I meet up with Four-Eyes to balance the books."

"Thank you," She lowered her head slightly, eyes still trained on the blond demon.

All he did was smile politely as he always did.

* * *

Petra's discussion with Commander did help some, but the nagging voice in her head did not stop its suspicions.

But now it wasn't so hard talking with Four-Eyes and Captain. Though they were busy, when Petra caught them, she could relax for a little, thankful they could talk outside of her almost dying. And her relationship with Captain started to change as well. It wasn't like he became super friendly, but he had almost gained a bit of empathy for her. It wasn't impossible, he did mention they had been humans before, but it was still perplexing. The only thing that changed was that they started hanging out more. They probably looked like a couple bent on destroying their liver (apparently demons could choose to be visible, a tip that would have helped Petra years ago) but she found those nights relaxing in a different manner than how she felt around Four-Eyes. Maybe it was because she could catch a smile or two from him, or that he had a clever wit that popped up when they hung out. She didn't know and didn't care.

"Ready to go?" His voice brought her back down to Earth, as she turned and saw Captain leaning against a wall.

"You did mention we might have a job today," She checked her pocket for her pocket knife as she approached the demon. "Do you know much about the target?"

"He's a young-looking thing but extremely dangerous. Commander found reports of suspicious murders in the area that point to him."

"You think I'm ready?"

"We're ready," Captain held out his hand. "You're not a shitty brat with a loud mouth anymore. You can defend yourself. Plus I won't let you die on me."

For a second, Petra relished the warm feeling his words gave her.

Then she locked them away in the farthest part of her mind. Now wasn't the time, she needed to focus.

"Well what are we waiting for?" She took his hand, and soon she found them in an abandoned run-down apartment. Petra blinked as she examined her surroundings. While it looked devoid of human life, there were still some furniture.

Captain opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by crying coming from a nearby room.

Immediately, Petra took off toward the source of the sound.

"Wait!" Captain called out to her, but she didn't even look back. She opened the door at the end of the hallway and found a small bedroom with only a cheap metal frame and mattress.

But that's not what caught Petra's attention. It was the young boy curled up on the mattress still sobbing. As if she was in a trace, she approached him, hand held out to comfort him.

"Petra, don't touch him!" Captain barreled into the room shouting.

His words caused the boy to look up at them. However the boy's eyes had no pupils. They were only a deep green that covered everything.

"He's the-" She didn't get to finish that statement as the tear-stricken demon roared and launched itself at her.


	8. Chapter 8

Petra barely dodged the demon, rolling over to the side as she pulled out her knife. Meanwhile Captain teleported to where the demon had landed, kicked him in the face, and sent him flying. The demon hit the wall hard, and Petra made her way to him ready to strike.

However as she raised her knife she realized the demon must have been only ten when he died.

The thought shocked her to the core. She had fought young-looking demons before, but was she ready to harm a child?

Before she could decide, Captain tackled her to the side so the demon couldn't bite her face off.

"Captain! Should we be fighting-" But he was already gone. She groaned in frustration as she trained her eyes back onto the demon. He was still recovering from his previous attempt of an attack. He was fast but he couldn't keep that stamina up.

"He's in pain," It only hit her then, the sounds and grunts coming from him weren't growls but cries. Carefully, she approached him. "Look I don't want to harm you, calm down," Petra tried to keep her voice as soothing as possible while holding her knife to the side. She wasn't stupid, she knew she couldn't put it away, but she wanted to make sure she didn't rile him up anymore.

The demon seem entranced with her, it seemed her words might be working. But then Captain teleported, grabbed him by the hair, and threw him against the wall once more.

"Focus, Girly," He growled. "no time to get wishy-washy!"

"We're only making the situation worse! I'm trying to do my job!"

'We haven't even seen the worse he can-" He stopped as he saw Petra's eyes go wide. He turned around to see the demon transformed into giant mass of muscle. Gone was the little boy, the only similarity was the same unnerving green eyes missing their pupils.

Petra couldn't believe her eyes. The demon must at least be 8 feet tall and the quarters had been cramped beforehand. She was frozen in place. Never before had she seen something like this.

Suddenly she felt strong arms wrap themselves around her and drag her under the small cot from before. The sight of Captain's familiar face snapped her out of her panic attack.

"What are we gonna do?" It would take only a few seconds for him to find their hiding spot. I need him conscious!"

"Calm down," Captain tighten his grip on her, and soon they found themselves outside the small bedroom and back into the kitchen. "This is just like in training. Take his left and I'll take his right."

"I need more to go on than that."

'I can't map out an entire strategy before he figures out where we are," He wiped the sweat off his brow. "Trust me. We can do this. Remember the basics. Use your environment and remember to target weak-points." Just as he finished, the demon from before came charging in.

Before she could even think of what to do, her body was already in motion. Off to the side she saw some cooking knives that would perfect for stabbing. Quickly she put away her pocket knife for two sharp cleavers.

When she looked over her shoulder to see what the demon was doing, she noticed Captain had caught his attention. He teleported to and fro as the demon tried to grab him, almost as if dancing. And with the direction he seemed to be traveling in...

Petra spotted the fridge in the distance.

_That bastard._

She couldn't help but smile. She knew what to do. As quietly as she could, she climbed on the counters and started creeping over to the fridge while she watched the fight. It took ducking under cabinets and jumping over loud plates left out since who know's when, but soon she was able to climb on the fridge.

As she pushed rotting food out of the way, she focused her attention back on Captain and the demon. He still was keeping out of the demon's reach, but something about his movements seemed off. He was a second slower than unusual and that worried her.

_Teleporting zaps a lot of energy out of him, so he's gonna-_

Just then, as Captain was disappearing, something happened. It's almost like the program of the world glitched. Instead of teleporting to the next spot, he ended up staying right where he was.

He was so shocked, he lost his tempo and the demon ended up grabbing him.

"Captain!" Petra yelled. She could feel her limbs stiffening up, he had always been there for her, he never lost, he never made mistakes, this didn't happen.

However instead of breaking, Petra willed herself to stay in control.

_He needs me._

With a war cry, she jumped and stabbed the demon's hand. That caused him to cry out in pain as he dropped Captain. However at this point, Petra didn't notice. Months of training and a killer intent were piloting her body now. The feel of the knives in her hands felt right. She wasn't the too idealistic student from before that expected work with demons to be all fun and games. This Petra Ral was dangerous and a force to be reckoned with.

Before the demon could react to her sneak attack, she cut around and slashed at the tendons of his ankles. That brought the monster crashing down, barely missing collapsing on Captain. Petra kept slashing as she made her way up his body: back of the ankles, below the buttocks, at the arms wiggling about and making a grab for her, shoulder-blades, and then finally at the nape of the neck.

The demon made a hellish cry after she sliced there, breaking Petra's stoic trance. She no longer believe the demon was a child, but she couldn't help but feel a little pity.

But then the sight of Captain sitting up made her forget everything else.

She rushed over to help him, but he held a hand up and motioned her to stop. "I'll be fine," He started to cough, sounding not at all fine. "Get those memories before he passes out."

Petra complied and turned around to see the demon had turned back into his original form. He was breathing, but seemed too exhausted to do anything.

"You stay right there," She lowered her voice to mimic how she spoke to troublesome kids she babysat when in highschool. As she lowered a hand to his forehead, she focused her energy on finding the key.

Since those days of Spot, Petra had learned to use her powers better. Aside from not being able to withstand a memory viewing, she had learned that unusually she didn't need an entire lifetime of memories to know what to say. Often she only needed one specific memory, the key. It was hard to describe, but if she ignored the other memories and concentrated on finding the key, she would be able to feel which one was which.

Just then, she felt the demon's key. Petra closed her eyes and was enveloped by it.

_A woman and two kids were in an alleyway as it rained. In front of them was a rough looking man with a gun._

_"Eren," The woman kept her eyes trained on the gun. "Take Mikasa and run."_

_"Shut up!" The man growled. "Say another word and you'll get a face full of lead, bitch." That caused her to quiet down, but the girl had grabbed the boy's arm already and was making a run for it._

_"Fuck!" The man yelled as he aimed his gun at them, but then the woman leaped and tried to take it from him. They wrestled for it, but the man won and ending up shooting her in right in the forehead._

_And the boy, Eren, had seen the entire thing._

_"Mom!" He cried, but the girl who Petra realized was Mikasa, kept running, forcing him to move on. They ran and ran for what felt like days til they reached a dead end._

_"No," Mikasa whispered so softly it could be mistaken for a breath. "No, no, no. Not again."_

_Behind then the man groaned as he wiped blood of his pants. "Damn it, why couldn't you keep still? Made me ruin my new shirt._

_Two gunshots rang out, and that was it._

Petra was bought back to the present by Eren's screams. she looked down and realized he finally passed out from a combination of her attacks and the memory viewing.

"Alright," She blinked as her vision slowly came back into focus. 'Here we go," She took a deep breath as she organized her thoughts.

"The world is really unfair, Eren. I don't know why your family had to be killed like that. Despite the existence of demons like you and Cap, I still doubt if there's a God, and if there is one, if he's merciful. I can't say there was meaning to your death," She noticed out of the corner of her eye Captain had scooted next to her and was listening intently. "Still holding onto this anger won't do you an good. Anger won't bring your family back. Anger won't solve anything. If you just let go, you'll be able to join your family and finally get some rest."

Silence followed as Eren stayed there unaffected. This was ok though, it had happened with Nanaba. Some demons are harder to comfort, like a nonbinary teen who didn't understand herself, much less Petra's terminology.

"Please, Eren. Trust me. What will you accomplish by staying with the living? Don't you want to see your mom again? Just let it go." However all of a sudden, a sharp pain shot through her head.

"Petra!" Captain leaned next to her, concern painting his features, but her whole world was pain. All she could hear was a repeat of the screams from the memory viewing. She kept seeing Eren's mother die again, again, and again. She could _feel_  the bullets pierce her skin.

"That's it, I'm getting you out of here!"

And just like that, the nightmare stopped. Petra looked up and saw she wasn't with Eren anymore. While her surroundings were cleaner, it was still the same model as the apartment before.

"Sorry, I'm still low on juice," She looked to see Captain cracking his neck. "I managed to get us a floor down, though. What the hell happened there?" Silver eyes held nothing but worry. "I've seen a lot of weird things since partnering up with you, but that takes the cake. You scared me."

Petra tried explaining what happened, but when she opened her mouth, only sobs came out. Soon she was crying, and she didn't know how to stop.

"I... I coul-couldn't save him Cap!" She managed to choke out. "Nothi-Nothing worked!" Her cries grew louder and her tears fell harder.

To her surprise, she found Captain cradling her against his chest, and caressing her hair with an almost gentle hand. As he dragged her closer to him, she could her him murmuring softly, as if trying to comfort her.

Nevertheless, the crying would not stop. So Petra held onto him as if he could anchor her from floating away.


	9. Chapter 9

When they went to check up on Eren, they found he had already scampered off to somewhere else. The guilt and shame was about to hit Petra full force again, but before the thoughts could harm her, Captain placed a steady hand on her shoulder.

"There's no way he is in fighting condition. If he's smart, he'll have hightailed it out of Sina."

"Makes sense, I guess," Petra sighed. The key would not leave her mind. That was not the first horrific memory she had seen, and it wouldn't be the last, but her failure seemed to reek with each moment she saw. She was the only person in Sina that could have helped him, but in the end, she was too powerless to do anything.

"I think we need to take you home," Captain grunted, before grabbing her hand. "I'll explain things to the Commander."

However, Petra was barely processing the words as it was. Failure, Failure, Failure. It wouldn't stop haunting her soul. She ached for a chance of redemption.

_Gunshots, smoke, red coats and blood, so much blood_

Suddenly it felt as if her hand was being crushed, the images disappeared and she looked up to see Captain with a look of utter agony. It was then he opened her eyes and let go of her hand.

"Don't do that. Ever again."

At his words, everything clicked. She had unintentionally started to look for his key.

"I'm sorry," More and more guilt was building up, ready to make her suffocate under its weight.

"Apology accepted. Let's just get you home," This time he was much slower to take her hand. Still Petra can't say she blamed him at all.

* * *

Petra came home to an empty dorm room like always. It wasn't Rico's fault at all, it was just with her demon tamer duties, now it seemed like their schedules would never cross paths again. She couldn't help but trace her scar as the loneliness drowned her in thin air. No, no, she couldn't repeat this again. Couldn't continue the cycle of her life being defined by periods of confidence or insecurity. She had to nip this problem in the bud.

So Petra did what she when her girlfriend broke up with her in high school. She popped into a pair of comfy pajamas, wrapped herself up in the blanket Mom gave her, and turned on _Beauty and the Beast_. Slowly her problems melted away as she buried herself in nostalgia and familiarity. But the movie couldn't last forever. The screen went dark and Petra found herself facing the same problem once more.

Studying was an impossible task, she had lost all motivation knowing she was set for life. (The Demon World was slowly swallowing her whole. One day she might not be able to walk this fine line.) Youtube did nothing for her, and sleep was elusive as ever. It got so bad, she was still awake when Rico came home.

"Wow, who knew I would get to see you awake?" Rico shrugged off her bags and joined Petra on her bed.

"I know, you love watching me sleep, to see such a beauty awake is unbelievable."

Rico rolled her eyes, and Petra couldn't help but giggle at the sight. "Yes we get it, you're cute. Unfortunately my boyfriend isn't into open relationships. Let's just move on to the point where you finally explain what your problem is."

"What?"

"Don't play dumb," Rico sighed. "I've known you since elementary school. You get super flirty when you want to distract yourself from problems, you've straightened up your sleep schedule for the first time in forever this year, but you're up in the middle of the night, tonight, and to be honest, even since around the time of your mugging back in September, you've acted strange. It's freaking March already. Spill."

It was Petra's turn to sigh. God how do you tell your best friend, who tolerated your 'imaginary demon friends' stories that you couldn't save a demon. How do you tell them, you think you got the hang of it, but then end up bruised and broken day after day with each sign of progress being contradicted? How do you tell them, you have found yourself relying on a being of hell and trusting them. She had to lie and lie and lie to a person who always gave the truth. Rico deserved better than her.

"Do you ever feel like, no matter how hard you try, you're just not good enough?" She traced her scar as the various fights flashed before her eyes. "Every day I take a step forward, I trip and fall two steps back the next. I go from success, to failure, success, failure, and more failure."

"Dude, is this related to school?" Silver eyes widened in concern. "I know finals didn't go well for you, but has that just destroyed your self-esteem?"

"No it's not that..." Petra looked for just the right words. "It's something else."

"That thing with that dude you hang out with?"

"What?" He had been making himself _visible_ all those times? "You mean Ca-, Cameron?"

"Yeah. I have no idea how you two met, but you guys act like two peas in a pod, always disappearing off to somewhere before I can asset him. After all I don't think he goes here."

"College wasn't an option for him," Another half-truth.

"Is he your sugar daddy or something?" There was a devilish glint in Rico's eyes.

"Uh, kinda?" Might as well go with that. "Are you here to shame my kinks, or are you here to listen to me whine about life?"

"Neither," She clicked her tongue knowingly. "Petra, you of all people are not a failure. I think you need to try to evaluate if this business you got wrapped up in will really make you happy or not. I think the reason you're so miserable, is that you really don't want to be involved in whatever your sugar daddy brought up into."

Did demon taming make her happy? Petra couldn't say. Four Eyes and Captain made her happy. The money made her happy. Having a purpose and being needed made her happy. It was why she was so eager to join the operation, even while reeling from all the new information. She was needed. It was something only she could do. Demons had plagued her entire life, now she could finally get over the pain they had caused her and have the adventure she always wanted. But oh look at how things had turned out.

"It's not that simple," Petra said.

"Nothing is," Rico shot back in her blunt, matter-of-fact way. "I know you just want to find a career you don't hate, but your happiness and well-being should _always_ come first," She paused to yawn and clean her glasses. "It's late. We both need to get to sleep."

"You're right. I love you."

"I love you too, Pet."

* * *

That next day, the late night conversation was still bouncing around her head. She went through her life with the usual calm and collected motions; however, her mind was racing around as it tried to come up with a solution to her problems. Could she go back to a life without demon taming? It had become such an intricate part of her identity. Still, she wasn't a demon herself, no matter how much time, she spent around them.

"Girly," She was brought back down to Earth and found she had managed to pin Captain to the floor. "I get it. Rub it in. But can you please let me go?"

"Sorry," She untangled herself from him. Damn it, she had finally pulled a fast one on Captain but had been too wrapped up in her teenage angst to notice.

"Don't be. You were the better fighter," He was hesitant to take her hand, and once more Petra felt the guilt start to play with her mind.

"Are you feeling better after yesterday?"

"Yeah. Just ran out of juice. Still my stamina is a hell of a lot better now that we've switched to fighting together. I would have been in trouble if I hadn't learned better."

Was he seriously complimenting her without a snarky remark? Was even he pitying her and her rough state?

"Are you still worried about me?"

"I'm just stating the truth."

"Yeah, but you usually can't bare not to be a sarcastic little shit while doing so."

"I think you're getting yourself mixed up with me," He placed a hand on her shoulder so that she'd look at him. "But why is it bad that I care about my partner?"

"Never used to think I would hear that from you."

"Me neither, but you are more tolerable than you look, Girly. Commander and Four-Eyes like to try to pretend they don't have feelings, so look I'm shit at talking about feelings. Still if that's what you need to get over this Eren funk, I'll try it out."

His hand was warm against her skin. Comforting, just like his presence had slowly become. Damn it, she didn't need this attraction to a demon to muddle up her decision over demon taming.

"I'm thinking of quitting this job soon," Petra had to keep from cringing at her own words. God, talk about the worst possible thing to say.

A shadow passed over Captain's face, and Petra felt worse and worse.

"I mean, I don't want to do this forever. I'll finish whatever y'all need me to, but after that I'm out. A human can't live their entire life in the demon world.

"Makes sense. Do you want me to go tell Four Eyes for you?"

"No, I should speak to them in person, they mean a lot to me."

_You mean a lot to me_

But those words should never leave her mind. She had made her decision now, no regrets. All her life she had been pursuing happiness, in any way shape or form. Petra didn't know much, but she knew despite how attached she had gotten to them, she couldn't stay on this path that would lead to nothing but a dead end.

Still it didn't make those wistful silver eyes any less painful.

* * *

"Why aren't you reacting at all?" Captain groaned. "I thought you of all demons were more attached to Girly than anyone else."

"Because unlike you, who has your head stuck up inside your ass half the time, I could see from the beginning the poor thing was miserable. It's why I tried so hard to make her feel welcomed. Are you going to let your stupid crush on her get in the way?"

"It's not about that, Four-Eyes," He growled as the tips of his ears grew red. "It's just, Girly's a fighter. She's can take practically anything the world throws at her, but only now does she give up? She's so much better than that!"

"A six figure check can make a person a lot less brave," They clasped their hands together. "And she shouldn't _have_ to take having her bones broken several times a day, or any of this other stuff. Remember, we may be demons, but we've moved on from forcing people to do stuff against their will."

"I just don't want her to make a mistake," Captain sighed. "She told me about her childhood and how her powers isolated her from the majority of the class. Do we really want to send her-"

The duo were interrupted by Commander's appearance. While he walked slowly with that steady click of his boots, something was very off. It could only be described by the way the atmosphere had done a 180.

"Please continue," He gave an encouraging smile. "Don't mind me."

Four-Eyes was the first to recover from the sudden shift. "Hey, this actually concerns you as well. Petra wants to quit demon taming."

Commander didn't have much of a reaction to their words. He simply gave a soft sigh.

"I'm afraid that's impossible at the moment?"

"Why? We don't-"

"The last report from our intelligence states that the Holy Legion is on its way to Sina."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello dear readers, I am back! Sorry for the trouble, my life kinda flew out of hands for a while. But you know what they say, new year, new me, I hope that my writing schedule will become much more consistent. The last arc is on its way, and believe me, sticking around for a little longer will be worth your time!


	10. Chapter 10

It hadn't been intentional on Petra's part. Technically she was still employed to them, but there was no use prolonging this transition. When she came out of Greek and saw Captain waiting for her in his usual spot, she ran in the opposite direction.

Where she had planned to go, Petra couldn't name. She just wanted to not have to agonize over this demon stuff for one day, but it seemed that was a luxury even she couldn't afford now. She could feel Captain's presence follow her around every corner. Ugh, it made her want to scream. Realizing there was nothing left she could do, Petra darted into an alleyway and waited for him to teleport in from of her.

"Is this following thing something new, or have you just been secretly clingy this entire time?" She crossed her arms in front of her, trying to mask the utter insecurity she felt.

"Is it a crime to worry about you?" He ran a hand through his hair, refusing to look at her.

"I thought my partner wasn't a creep."

"I thought my partner wasn't an idiot."

Something inside Petra snapped at that. How dare he act like any of this decision had to do with him? How dare he support her one day only to come around the next and pout like a freaking child? It was unbelievable.

"Get your head out of your fucking ass," She closed the distance between them, drawing herself up to her full height. "This is my life. If I don't want to put myself in danger, then let me make that choice."

"This isn't about that, Girly," He growled silver eyes glowing dangerously.

"Then what is it about?" Petra drew nearer to his face. "Have you come to kill me? Commander said no one backs out of a deal with a demon after all." Her body tensed up in preparation for a fight or something else entirely. If he started something, she knew she would not have the self-control to stop it.

However instead of responding to her taunting, his expressive shifted into something much softer, almost remorseful.

"I know the other humans have treated you like shit. You act like it was nothing, but you don't deserve to be thought the monster when we're right here. You deserve better than that." Captain wrapped his arms around her frame and rested his head on her shoulder. "You deserve the world, not that."

Every cell in her body was frozen in utter shock. She didn't know what she'd do if she could return his affection in anyway. The logical side of herself told her to stop this right now, there was no need staying attached to someone you were leaving soon. The emotional side of herself though told her to finally pull the handsome devil in for a kiss and never let go of him.

Thankfully she didn't have to make a choice. Captain drew back willingly, trying to recover his usual steely expression. Noticeably though, his left hand moved to cup her right cheek. It was a less overwhelming gesture, but it still managed to make her head spin.

"I just don't what you to make a mistake you'll regret," He let out a slow breath, as if it was his first in a long time. "But regardless of what you choose, I got a message for you from us all. Don't trust anyone or anything related to the Holy Legion, if you hear that name, run and get to a crowded place with humans as soon as possible."

"The Holy Legion, what do you mean?"

"It's a long story, but I swear I'll explain later, right now just survive." He stroked her scar, and then in a blink of an eye he was gone.

There was only one thought running through Petra's mind.

_Shit, I am so fucked._

* * *

When Captain made his jump back to the mansion, he found Commander and Four-Eyes, still packing up. You think by now the three of them would have figured out how to be able to box away things in a timely matter, but it seemed like they were determined to take their sweet time.

"How aren't ya'll used to this yet?" He took a package out of Four-Eyes' arms so that they could walk faster. "It's only been a century or so since we've had to last handle this mess."

"You have no right to complain since you got out of chores to woo Pet." They flicked his forehead before sticking out their tongue. "Speaking of which, why'd you spend so much energy teleporting, you better not be planning on making this jump alone." They sent a bit of healing relief that helped loosen his muscles. It was a kind gesture Captain hadn't been expecting at all. He decided then it couldn't hurt to be a bit nice in return, despite the sore subject.

"If you think I'm wooing her, then you're the one with your head in your ass," To be fair, he had initially thought of something much worse. "After deciding that the demon tamer life wasn't for her, do you really think she'd want to be associating with us?"

"She did get the warning concerning the Holy Legion, right?" Commander glanced back at the two of them, something akin to concern painting his features.

"Yeah, once we get moved though, I'm hightailing back to keep her with us for a while. I doubt a demon tamer could stand against them for long."

"Just concentrate on getting us to safety," Commander grunted as he set down a crate in the courtyard. "I think that should be everything. The rest I can materialize once we move."

"Are you sure you guys are ready?" Four-Eyes grabbed their hands once they had circled their items. "We still have a bit before they break in, right?" They raised an eyebrow at Commander, but all he could return was his polite, strained smile as usual.

"Unfortunately no. I'm going to drop the barrier on the count of three, can you handle that Captain?" His pale blue eyes held so much trust, Captain wasn't sure he would have been able to let him down if he had wanted to.

"I'll get us there. You can count on me."

"Alright, let's begin then. 1-"

The three of them tried to ignore the growing pressure from each others grip.

"-2-"

Both Commander and Four-Eyes closed their eyes, but Captain forced his to stay open.

"-3-"

For an agonizing half second, they were falling through space as they swarmed around them. It was like a tidal wave of white, a million eyes seemed to bear into them with weapons bared and ready to strike.

Before any of the Holy Legion could react, he teleported them away to the new pocket dimension Commander had set for them.

* * *

Petra tried not to let whatever the hell had happened between her and Captain affect things. She went through her daily life as normal as she could. If she maybe stared at a shadow for a bit too long though, that was hardly anyone else' business was it?

It was difficult not to succumb to paranoia, especially when she had no idea what she was looking out for. Still it at least seemed like a good idea to do as Captain said and stay around other people. Demons rarely got too aggressive if they knew the effect of their actions could be seen. So she checked out books she wouldn't read from the library. She walked around the park, never straying far from clumps of people. When the sun started to set and she realized she might finally need to return to her dorm, she made sure to get on the most crowded subway car she could find.

Once she settled down, her body seemed to unwind from the day's stress. For a moment she simply breathed and let everything flow out of her.

It was that one moment, a demon no bigger than a fly buzzed past her and landed on her shoulder. Maybe if she had been more alert she would have noticed it and swatted it away, but by now demons were barely a nuisance when on the job. Even hindsight could not have saved her.

By the time she felt it bite her, Petra's tongue had swollen so large she could barely speak. She tried to call for help, but it came out as a yawn of all things as her eyelids began to droop.

_Oh god I'm gonna die_

This wasn't like being drugged, but forced to sleep by and invisible force. Petra struggled to lift her limbs, but it was then with a frightening speed everything became black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're reaching the final chapter(s) very soon, depends on how things fit from my outline, but the conclusion is just around the corner!


	11. Chapter 11

When Petra woke up, her head was pounding like a drum. It felt as if she had to carry concrete slabs with her pinky toe just to lift her eyelids. The closest thing to a coherent thought she could muster was regret over drinking whatever beverage it was that could cause a killer hang-over like this. Still as she slowly came to her senses, she realized this felt nothing like that. Whatever this was, it was worse, as if Life itself had picked her up and wrung every drop of energy from her body.

Then a set of bars came into focus, and immediately it was like none of that pain matter anymore. Petra sat up not only to find herself locked in a cell, but a blonde girl sitting across from her.

She looked to be no older than her mid-teens and even smaller than Petra herself, but that did nothing to ease her nerves. There was a dangerous aura to her, one of a soldier, someone trained in discipline. Despite this, she didn't even seem to regard Petra as more threatening than a fly. Somehow that was most frightening thing about the situation, someone holding so much power yet regarding it as nothing.

"Where am I..." As slurred and mumbled her words came out, the girl instantly turned to face her, cool blue eyes glaring at her. For a moment, Petra truly feared for her life, but slowly the girl answered her question.

"You have been detained and arrested by the Holy Legion."

At the sounds of those words, Petra's heart sank like a stone. Memories of Captain's last words came to the forefront of her mind.

_Don't trust anyone or anything related to the Holy Legion, if you hear that name, run_

And here she had gone and gotten herself captured by them instead.

* * *

After the jump, Captain had wanted to sleep for a week. Jumping from one created dimension to the next was nothing like he was used to. Even with his additional training, it still felt like running marathon in an hour. Usually he tried to take a break for a few days just to recharge his batteries.

But then one worry kept tugging at his mind from time to time, keeping him from relaxing fully. He knew Petra wasn't the type to look fondly on him getting a bit overprotective, but it felt wrong to leave her out there without a clue of what was going on. They had been doing this for decades while she was still so green behind the ears.

_She could deck you in the face for this kind of behavior you know_

And maybe he really deserved it. There was no no explanation for visiting her dorm at this hour that wouldn't paint him as a creep. Still at the very least he needed to rest his nerves. He'd be able to heal a lot faster without having to worry about her on top of everything else.

It was difficult getting into an area so densely populated by humans who had no sense when it came to their sleep schedules. Still stealth was his specialty, and he found himself inside soon enough. At first it seemed as if no one was there, but suddenly he heard a voice.

Quickly he hid as he tried to distinguish the source. It sounded like that girl he had seen hanging around Petra few times. Captain began to listen closely to the individual words she was saying.

"Hey Ian, Petra texted me saying she was gonna stay over with you. Apparently she had something going on today that was located near you and didn't want to make the trip here late at night."

Hearing that news was like having a weight lifted off his chest. He didn't think he had the right to thank God or anything else holy, but the desire to was raw and real. In his relief he almost didn't hear the last part of the conversation.

"What?! You're saying she didn't make it over there!?"

* * *

The worst part about being captured was the silence. Her jailer wasn't the chatty type, which left her alone to think about her failure over and over again. Her subconscious replayed the moments right before she was captured. Each time she remembered the it, it was like getting punched in the gut. No matter what she did it seemed her efforts were always useless.

At some point she was taken out of her cell to be read her "charges" for all her crimes by a mysterious

figure cloaked in white. As nice as it was to stretch her legs, it left her more confused than anything else.

"You are charged with collaborating with demonic forces." The figure announced. "Depending on how long and how far this relationship has gone, your sentence will be extended."

"So what does that mean from you weirdos? Do I get a time-out for not living up to whatever cult you run?"

"I suggest you not take the Holy Legion so lightly." Their voice took on a dangerous tone. "We're the only thing that stands between humanity and its destruction. Having infidels like you work together with such monsters makes it even harder to cleanse the world. If I were you I'd show some repentance. Those who don't beg for forgiveness are treated the same as a demon."

Something about those words set off a switch in Petra. Maybe she would have taken this better if she had already cut off contact with Captain and the gang and would have thought before she spoke. Maybe is she wasn't tired and scared out of her wits she would have tried to act pragmatically. Maybe if for a year now it hadn't felt like her life was being run by everyone but herself she would have known not to piss off those who held her life in their hands. Even so, she had grown already sick of whatever freakshow this was.

"Where were you my entire life then?" Her words were as sharp as a knife. "I spent my childhood convinced I was out of my fucking mind. Demons haunted my every move, but apparently they weren't important until I finally found some peace, and now you want to take it away?" Without thinking she raised her fist to strike them, when suddenly she was slammed to the floor by the blonde guard from before.

"Thank you, Ariel." The clocked figure bowed as she dug her heel deeper into Petra's back.

And so her brief stint out of the cell was ended. Looking back she would have taken more of those cryptic threats over this silence. She was still without a clue of what exactly this Holy Legion was up to. All she knew for sure was that she had damned herself in their eyes, and their road to redemption was unlikely to be one she'd like.

With a sigh, Petra raked a hand down her face. This is what she gets for trying to make sense of her madness, to try and find a purpose in her life.

_What am I going to do?_

At this point she wasn't even sure she could pray to anyone for help.

* * *

Faster and faster, Captain telaported himself through the streets of Sina. It was a crazy plan, one even Girly wouldn't have ever suggested. Still the Holy Legion would have to be blind not to notice him this way. Eventually, they'd come to attack him and that's when his search for Petra would really begin.

He knew Commander and Four-Eyes would never allow this sort of behavior to happen. He could practically hear their more logical arguments with each jump. How do you expect to take on the Holy Legion yourself? Do you expect to be able to fight demon hunters after exhausting yourself out? Who knows if they really have Petra. For all he knows she could already be dea-

Captain bit his tongue hard. No, he would not accept that. She was his partner for a good reason, brave as hell and even fiercer. If any human could survive them it was her. It had to be her. Even so he couldn't sit around just twiddling his thumbs while she was in danger.

"Wait for me Petra, I'm coming," He whispered to himself. He'd rescue her no matter what stood in the way.

* * *

It was hard to keep track of time. Even if Petra hadn't been busy wallowing her own self-pity, there was no windows or any other signs that could have helped her. So when she found a plate of food and a glass of water set before her, she couldn't help but look up in surprise.

"Eat." It was the first time her guard had spoken to her, making the situation all the more surreal.

Without even thinking, Petra said, "Thank you, Ariel..."

For some reason that made her freeze up. It was another first of hers, showing some emotion besides bland neutrality.

"Is that not what the other dude called you?"

"It is..." She brushed a few strands of hair behind her eye. "But it's not a name I expected to hear from a prisoner of all people."

"A name's a name. why does it matter who says it?" Petra pretended to be occupied with tearing a loaf of bread into smaller pieces. This might be her only opportunity to fish for information. The worst thing she could do would be to ruin it all because she got too eager.

"It's less a name and more a title. Your kind knows very well the power names have." There was a slight quirk to her lips that could be mistaken for a smirk.

Damn it, so she wasn't as subtle as she'd have prefer. Oh well at least Ariel seemed entertained by her antics.

"Did you get to choose it yourself? Because if it's supposed to be intimidating, all it does is remind me of the redhead mermaid from that one movie."

"The reference is more academic than that." She approached Petra's cell to sit across from her, movements effortless graceful as if belonging to a dancer. "The protagonist of Shakespeare's The Tempest, has two slaves: Ariel and Caliban. The former was obedient and well-loved, earning his freedom at the end for his good deeds. The latter was unruly and regarded as inhuman. While he does receive forgiveness in the end, his fate is unclear. The Holy Legion mirrors such behavior for sinners like us. If you act as an Ariel, you're one step closer to earning redemption. On the other hands, Calibans fates are more ambiguous." Even without having observed her quiet nature before, it was obvious that Ariel was not used to speaking this much. Her words came out stilted and awkward, like she was reading a script in a foreign language.

"So am I a Caliban in your eyes?" Petra leaned forward, no longer hiding her interest.

"Everyone starts out as Caliban before the Holy Legion recruits them. Very few are strong enough to dedicated themselves fully to eradicating demons from this world. However a Caliban can always change into an Ariel if they wish to. Your choice is simple. If the Holy Legion runs out of patience though, then soon your disobedience will be punished."

"What happened to that forgiveness?"

"It is always granted at first, but if it is not accepted by the recipient, judgment must be dealt."

"Why tell me this, though?"

"Because I'm tired of unnecessary violence." She gave a long sigh that sounded centuries old. "You seem smart enough to know when to fold your hand." While she tried to remain impersonal and detached, one ghost of an emotion still tainted her words. She seemed lonely, but that wasn't even the most surprising thing she found about her.

The more she looked at Ariel, the more she reminded reminded Petra of herself as a teen, someone who felt so alone and alien in her own world.

All this purple prose and odd behavior was making her head spin. So far what she knew about this Holy Legion was not adding up. Their job was to destroy demons and ones who associated with them like her, yet that was where they tried to recruit their workforce. They named their workers in a very demonic fashion based on if they earned redemption for some unknown sin or-

A thought came to Petra that was shocking, she had to keep from yelping at the revelation. Dear lord, if she was right...

"You're right. I'm not stupid. If that's the only way I can survive, then I'll join y'all." She waited for the right moment, when Ariel's body seemed to loosen up ever so slightly and her guard was let down for a half-second, and then she reached through the bars of her cell to grip her as fiercely as possible.

She fought and bit and screamed to get Petra off her, but her grip was unshakeable. It had to be here. She couldn't be wrong. Then suddenly it flashed before her eyes.

The key.

_The crowd seemed to roar louder than any beast alive. One name kept getting chanted over and over again. Annie. Annie. However one quiet voice managed to impact her more than they ever could._

_"You have to win this, Annie. You've come so far to make it to the championship. I will not accept failure from you. Do not let her beat you."_

_With that, Annie stepped into the ring to face her opponent. Already she felt a fraction of her resolve wavering. She looked hardly like a teen her age, more as if Athena herself had come down to Earth and had decided to take up boxing. Even so she tried to stay strong. Dad wouldn't accept failure._

_Once the match started, it felt like it would go one forever. Again and again the two weaved around each other, not giving the other an inch. Ugh, they couldn't play this game forever. She had to strike now._

_With all her strength, Annie lunged forward with a left hook; however, as she stepped forward, she found herself slipping in a puddle of sweat and hitting her head against her opponent's chair._

_Then there was only darkness._

When Petra came back to the real world, she found the demon glowering at her. She looked like a feral animal, and somehow Petra knew if she didn't save her, Annie would decide to kill her.

"You're life has always been this way, Annie. Instead of making your own decisions, someone else has told you what you needed to do, and if you didn't live up to their expectations they beat you into the ground for it."

"You fucking bitch!" She snarled, pulling out a key from her pocket. "I'll-"

"To be honest I've suffered in the same way. First I tried living up to the expectations of human society and simply denying a part of myself, and then I started only valuing the part of me that could live in demon society."

She plunged the key to the lock and all but ripped open the door. This was it, there was no escape if Petra didn't act now.

"Things aren't going to get better for either of us, if we stop trying to be the person others want to be and just choose to be ourselves! It doesn't matter that you're a demon, Annie. There's nothing broken about you. We just need to allow ourselves the privilege to exist!"

Petra closed her eyes, waiting for a fist to connect with her face, but it never happened. When she dared to open her eyes again, she found Annie fading away right before her. For some reason she found her mouth trying to speak, to say something, anything about the situation, but the words wouldn't come. Even so, as she disappeared, a ghost of a whisper passed by Petra's ear.

"Thank you..."

For a beat, all Petra could do was shiver from the chills it sent down her spine. Had that all been intention on her part? Had Annie really wanted to be saved instead of a slave to those who condemned her? Whatever it didn't matter. She could think about such matters once she got out of here. Of course then there was that matter of Petra didn't know where exactly she was...

It was right then she heard a noise coming from the door. Someone was on their way to this room and were coming fast. Despite her lack of weapons or anything really to defend herself, Petra immediately fell into a fighting stance. If she were to die here, then she would go down with a fight.

The door flew open, but instead of eerie figures in white clocks, only one familiar person stood.

It was Captain.

A thousand emotions seemed to run counter to each other in Petra: relief, confusion, joy, fear. Captain though just stared and stared, like she was a miracle just for taking a breath. A part of herself screamed to shoved that inside the deepest dark vault inside her mind, to not let anything dangerous spill out.

Petra said screw that, and leaped into his arms with no regrets.

"Petra," He whispered her name like a prayer. His face was buried in her shoulder, his grip around her frame almost vicelike. All the adrenaline from before began to drain from her body, and suddenly all she wanted to do was collapse and just sob her heart out until there were no tears left. Instead of flinching from such display of vulnerability, Captain simply rubbed his hand in soothing circles and murmured gentle sounds.

"Come on, Girly. Let's get you home."

* * *

When Captain came to see her after she had settled down, she felt his presence more than anything else. Her attention had been fully occupied by a Greek shoreline, but at the familiar zap of teleportation, she knew he had returned. Without even turning her head, Petra greeted him.

"Anything you need."

"Just wanting to make sure you're ok after that phone call." He moved to sit next to her. Four Eyes had been the one to deal with most of the details of relocating. At this point it was just tying up the loose ends so she could disappear effectively. Who knew that would be so painful though?

"I'm not sure Dad was processing it. All the money just blew his mind, but then to hear about that witness protection story, it might have been just too much."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." His words were awkward, but it was the intent that mattered.

"I appreciate it. Still I hope I don't have to leave Sina forever. Even if it's only for a little while I want to see Rico and Dad at least one more time."

"This isn't the first time we've had to move shop because of the Holy Legion. If they see your face in town, they'd jump you right away."

"And you think that would stop me?" She raised an eyebrow and shot him a cocky grin.

Captain smiled back. "No it wouldn't." For a beat the two of them just sat there, enjoying the other's company. But unfortunately nothing can last forever. It wasn't long before he was asking her another question.

"So what are your plans now? You want out?"

Petra licked her lips, trying to find the right words. "Not exactly. I think I'm going to start studying the connection between demons and history, specifically in portrayals of mythology. I told you I loved Greek mythology, didn't I? This is the perfect way to put that and my demon knowledge to use."

"But does that mean we're still partners?"

Hazel eyes met silver, so sharp and piercing and a million other things that made her inside do flips.

"Not necessarily. I may not be staying in the demon taming business, but things don't have to change that much."

"What do you mean?"

She took a deep breath. In. Out. Then slowly she laced their fingers together. "What exactly are we?" It was impossible to say who kissed who first, but it wasn't long before they were drinking each other completely in. As the two of them pulled back for air, a content sigh passed from her lips.

"...I have no idea how relationships like this even go, but do you want to give it a try?" It was strange seeing Captain bashful of all people. The tips of his ears were flushed red, and he seemed determined to look anywhere but her eyes.

Petra thought on the past year's trials and tribulations, of her revelation when captured by the Holy Legion, and all the other anxieties that had been gnawing at her core.

"I want you," she finally said. "I want to everything and anything my heart desires from now on."

Captain grinned. "Then let's get started."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After way longer than this story should have taken, it's done. It kinda feels unreal. On one hand this story is almost from a different time period in my life. I was 15 when I started this and still figuring out a lot about myself and now three years later and I'm heading for college in less than a week. I've changed so much as a person, I wondered if I was even telling the same story I started out as. Even so I glad to be able to finish this project once and for all. Thank you so much for your support. I love all my readers~


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